Saturday, March 16. 2013

A maelstrom is a very powerful whirlpool; a large, swirling body of water. A free vortex, it has considerable downdraft. The power of tidal whirlpools tends to be exaggerated by laymen. There are virtually no stories of large ships ever being sucked into a maelstrom, although smaller craft are in danger and tsunami generated maelstroms may even threaten larger crafts. Tales like those by Paul the Deacon, Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe are entirely fictional.

One of the earliest uses of the Scandinavian word was by Edgar Allan Poe in his story “A Descent into the Maelstrom” (1841). In turn, the Nordic word is derived from the Dutch maelstrom, modern spelling maalstroom, from malen (to grind) and stroom (stream), to form the meaning grinding current or literally “mill-stream”, in the sense of milling (grinding) grain.

The first rising sun of 2012 appears above Mt. Fuji, observed at
Yamanashi prefecture on January 1, 2012. All Nippon Airways (ANA) had
organized a rising sun observation flight with 137 passengers on New
Year’s Day.

Sun, water, wave, surf. Oh and a rainbow. This gorgeous photograph by Zak Noyle was the winner of Surfer Magazine’s ‘photo of the year’ and it’s easy to see why. The image was taken with a fisheye lens at Teahupoo in Tahiti. The surfer is Christian Redongo.

154 water-skiers from around the world gathers in Strahan, Tasmania
to attempt to set a new world record. To qualify, the skiers had to stay
upright for a full nautical mile. Unfortunately nine of the skiers were
unable to complete the full distance, so the new world record was set
at 145 skiers pulled behind a single boat. The previous record (set at
the same location) was 114. There are tons more pics and info in the
original article on Dailymail

In this startling satellite image by DigitalGlobe, the capsized
cruise ship Costa Concordia can be seen near the island of Giglio in
Italy on January 17, 2012. As of today, search has been suspended after
the ship slipped. Twenty-three people are still missing and 11 and
confirmed dead after the ship crashed into rocks on Friday.

Captain Francesco Schettino is under house arrest, accused of causing
the crash. Prosecutors have also accused him of fleeing the Costa
Concordia before evacuation was complete. The ship, carrying 4,200
passengers and crew, had its hull ripped open when it hit rocks late on
Friday, just hours into a Mediterranean cruise.

A boy sits in front of an ice covered car in Versoix, near Geneva,
Switzerland, on February 5, 2012. Bitterly cold weather sweeping across
Europe claimed more victims on Sunday and brought widespread disruption
to transport services, with warnings that the chilling temperatures
would remain into next week.

Everyone knows whales are huge. In fact, the Blue Whale is the largest known animal to have ever existed (source). Roughly the length of a basketball court, these majestic creatures are a sight to behold.

In this startling image, we see a kite surfer likely unaware that
this colossal mammal is right below him. The comments on Reddit and a
search on TinEye did not turn up anything, please update us in the
comments below if you know who the photographer is, or have any more
information on this incredible aerial shot.

This is an incredible capture by photographer Guy Tal
of a rare event in the badlands of Utah that occurs every few years
when the conditions are just right and the arid lands burst into color
with carpets of scorpionweed and beeplant.

A badlands (also badland) is a type of dry terrain where softer
sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by
wind and water. It can resemble malpaís, a terrain of volcanic rock.
Canyons, ravines, gullies, hoodoos and other such geological forms are
common in badlands.

As for Guy, well he explains best what he does in his own words:

It’s a strange business I’m in; one often misunderstood.
There’s no real word for what I do and maybe it’s time to put a name to
it. My job is to be inspired. I make my living conveying the inspiration
I find to others, in various ways. I photograph, I write, I teach, I
interact. What does that make me? My photography is not about making
photographs; my writing is not about words; my teaching is not about
facts; and my interactions are not about being social. There’s a higher
ulterior purpose – the experience. Am I an experiencer?

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